Nothing much wrong with the Felicia at that price. All the usual advice applies r.e. oil changes etc. Save on the purchase price, but do NOT be tempted to scrimp on servicing, and with a bit of luck you´ll get 5 years at 50mpg from it.
Lightish body so the lack of turbo doesn´t affect it too much.
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I'm not sure that I would regard either the Corsa or the Felicia as a step up from the Almera -- I'd have thought that the Nissan would be more reliable than either, as well as a much nicer car to drive. Personally, I like diesel cars, but as far as I know those Nissan petrol engines tend to be robust and economical (my old 1.5 Nissan Sunny gave me 40-50mpg on a long run).
Have you calculated the savings you'd get by driving a diesel?
On that long run, you might get 40mpg out of the Almera and 50mpg in the Felicia diesel. That means your long run costs £38 in petrol in the Almera or £46 in the Felicia, saving £8 a go.
Twenty-four times a year, that's a saving of only about £200 a year, less the cost of the extra oil changes the diesel needs -- say a net svaing of £160 a year, which could easily be wiped out in a small repair bill.
OK, the long run isn't the only mileage you'll be doing, so your annual fuel savings would be higher than the £160. But it seems to me that you are still at the level where the condition of the cars would be much more significant to your overall costs than the fuel cost.
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I agree with NW, but if you want to shange go with the Felicia. I think it was a reasonable car for its price, and had a good ride, so will be far more comfortable that the Corsa for the journey.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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The Almera is a 1.4 and is ultra reliable (never failed an mot). I get 53 mpg if I drive at a steady 65 mph. But still only 42 mpg in town. I drive about 10-12k every year and some backroomers suggested that a diesel make sense after only 6k, should I stay with the Nissan considering the reliability,I mean petrol prices dont go down only up, dont they?
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I'm 99% sure the 1.9 Skoda engine wouldn't be averse to running on straight vegetable oil...Might save some cash that way?
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If I was to consider running it on veg would I need a special kit for a 50:50 mix?
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I wouldn't have thought so, as long as you're sensible and use a mix like that. Might be worth tapering it gradually though, and prepare to change a few fuel filters - it's a very good fuel system cleaner AFAIK.
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I agree with Espada about Felicia v Corsa. Those Corsas are very bouncy lttle things, not fun for a long ride. But I'd still prefer the Almera to either of them, and I doubt that either would be v much more economical around town than the v good mpg you quote for the Almera
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At that kind of fuel consumption and reliability I'd stick with the Almera.
As a comparison, my Passat diesel does 32mpg on a typical across town trip and 42mpg at motorway speeds.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Personally, I wouldn't change to save money. You'll save a bit on fuel but there's always a risk in switching cars, especially in this price range.
If however you **want** to change and this is "bloke maths" to justify it then go ahead!
Peter
PS I know you don't care about comfort, but you might start to after 450 miles in a Corsa!
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Personally, I wouldn't change to save money. You'll save a bit on fuel but there's always a risk in switching cars, especially in this price range.
This looks like sound adivice, why change in this price-range just to save a few quid on fuel. You may end up with expensive problems which would negate the savings on economy. Also, I drive a diesel, but to be honest I think in cars the size of a Corsa going diesel is a marginal proposition compared to bigger heavier cars.
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If you're getting 45+ mpg from the Almera, keep it until it breaks. You'll be doing exceptionally well to get 55 mpg from either; 50 mpg is more likely and if you're doing 20k a year that will only save you £200, i.e., less than the dealer's profit margin if you switch cars, let alone the reliability/parts/servicing risk. Sorry but whilst I wouldn't necessarily suggest buying your Almera over either of those, I wouldn't get rid of it for them either, now that you have it.
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I would agree. The Almera has a real advantage in having a timing chain engine that should give long service with regular oil changes. Both those diesels could throw their cam belts one week into ownership and there goes all your slender advantage.
I would try to avoid anything with a cambelt, especially older diesels. The bills for engine work could make it a write off.
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Stick with the Almera, my diesel Focus hasn't even touched 50mpg yet, and around the doors it's getting around 40mpg (still a big improvement over my old 3 series).
If I had a car that did over 50mpg on a run I wouldn't dream of changing it just to save money.
Now if I was doing it just because I *wanted* to do it, then thats a different matter! ;-)
Blue
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Speaking as a dedicated diesel fan, I must still agree that changing from your current car purely on the basis of fuel consumption is a non-starter. You probably won't get a significant improvement over what the Almera is achieving, and both of the alternatives you mention are likely to be less reliable than your current motor, especially the Corsa. If you feel you must change, then I would definitely pick the Felicia over the Corsa - my dad had an estate version for a number of years until baby bro wrote it off, and was very sorry to see it go. Does exactly what it says on the tin and all that, they tend not to go wrong very much (my dad's never did) and that 1.9 diesel engine will be very unstressed. Probably a lot more comfortable for the long trips than the Corsa as well (you may say this is not important, but it will be!).
Unless you have some other compelling reason for changing, I'd stick with the Almera.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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I must stress that to get to that kind of mpg from the Almera I used the instructions from here:
www.cartalk.com/content/eco/tips.html
The things that work for me the best are in order of efficiency:
1. Having a very light foot on the gas and the brakes (all the time when it's safe).
2.Checking the tyres pressure EVERY time I fill up(it usually cost me nothing).
3.Changing oil every 6k.
4.Using BP ultimate or Shell Optimax as the price now is very close to regular premium (only 5p/litre more around here).
Someone advised me to carry less petrol in the tank (fill it only half) to save on weight but this is sound too silly to me.
I suspect that if you follow these rules and stick to them constantly (especially rule no 1) a Focus diesel should give a better consumption than the petrol driven Almera.
I want to apologise for driving a bit slow:
I might be the idiot that drive only 60 mph in the left hand side of the dual carriageway in front of you but than I have time and you don?t pay my fuel bill.
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Almera,
I have no objection to you driving at 60mph in the inside land of a dual carriageway. its when you do it on the outside land thats the problem!
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I only use the outside lane to bypass people who drive slower than my 60 mph and carefully returning to the inside lane.
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